The pre-season tournament, which takes place every two years, was won by Chelsea in 2011 and will this year see hosts South China FC test their mettle against three of the English top-flight's best clubs.

This year's competition marks 10 years since its inception and Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is delighted to be taking his side back to Asia after touring the continent in 2012.

He declared: "It gives us the opportunity to showcase the club's footballing talent to our supporters in Hong Kong, which is such a vibrant venue to host a high-quality tournament like this."

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill added that there was no question of turning down the invitation to take part for the first time.

"The stature and prestige of the event is such that, when invited, we readily accepted," he enthused. "Hong Kong's reputation as a brilliant venue is also growing tall and we are looking forward to competing against such very strong opposition on our Barclays Asia Trophy debut."

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore expressed his delight at staging the tournament in Hong Kong for a third time, after previous outings in 2007 and 2011, and is confident that the three clubs involved will prove a perfect advertisement for English football in Asia.

"They are clubs of outstanding pedigree and history who represent the best of the Premier League; they have some of the world's best footballers, they are winners and they also have many fans in Hong Kong that they are looking forward to entertaining," Scudamore noted.

"The 2011 tournament was without doubt our most successful to date and the atmosphere inside the Hong Kong Stadium on both nights was particularly memorable."